Finally taking the plunge!

[Green Ninja]

Just ordered my first lot of grain, hops etc.

Got to finish the mash tun now and then for the first AG brewday.

<quivers>


As an aside, how do I guage the quantity of water required for the strike water?

Do I use brewsmith or is there a magic formula to it?

I imagine I want around 30 litres in the boiler prior to boiling to give me 23 litres of fermentable wort?

Or again, is there a formula for this also?

Any help gladly received.

Terry.

 

[DaveMack]

Nice one Green Ninja , i'm about two weeks away from having my all grain set up done

 

[Runwell-Steve]

How much water you need varies dependant on a number of factors, but there are some guidelines.

It is dependant on recipe and your equipment.

These are the losses you need to account for.

Dead space in HLT
Dead space in Mash Tun
Dead Space in Boiler
Losses due to hop absorption, approx 1.5 litre per 100g of leaf hops.
Losses due to grain absorption, approx 1 litre per Kg of grain.
Losses due to evaporation, approx 10% per hour of boiling.

I will assume in this instance your recipe uses 100g of hops and 5Kg of grain. I will assume a deadspace of half a Litre in each of your vessels. I will also assume a 90 minute boil.

To get 23 litres out of the boiler you need 25 Litres post boil, 23 Litres target, plus 1.5 Litre hop absorption plus 0.5 Litre deadspace

To achieve 25 Litres you need to have started with 29.5 Litres. 29.5 - 15% = 25.

To get 29.5 Litres in the boiler you would need 35 Litres of water going into your Mash Tun, as you will lose 5 Litres to grain absorption and 0.5 Litre to deadspace.

To get 35 Litres in your Mash Tun you will need to start with 35.5 Litres in the HLT.

So your total Liquor volume would be 35.5 Litres.

As a rule Mash with a ration of 2.5 Litres of water per 1 Kg of grain, then use the rest of the liquor for sparging.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Whilst BeerSmith is very good, it can be a little confusing for your first couple of brews. Try BeerEngine, its stripped to the basics, but all the info is there.

 

[Green Ninja]

Thanks guys, especially you Steve.

I'm not so scared anymore.

I've found a recipe on one of the grain selling sites I'm going to try first as I like the bottled original. Shropshire lad.

Here's the recipe:

3990g Maris Otter Pale Malt
250g Crystal malt
50g Chocolate Malt
320g Torrefied Wheat
25g Fuggles 90 minutes
27g Goldings 90 minutes
10g Fuggles 15 minutes
10g Goldings 15 minutes
1 x protofloc Tablet
1 x Nottingham Ale Yeast


I hope to build the mash tun saturday, get the cooler bent into shape and finished Sunday, have the ingredients delivered sometime during next week and the big day will be next Saturday.

To be honest I can't wait. I've tried a few different AG's round Moley's place and they were the best beers I've ever tasted, including any pub beers (apart from Kig & Barnes Old Ale).

Actually, that's going to be my 2nd AG brew come to think of it.

Thanks again all.

Terry.

 

[Dronfieldbrewer]

Thanks guys, especially you Steve.

I'm not so scared anymore.

I've found a recipe on one of the grain selling sites I'm going to try first as I like the bottled original. Shropshire lad.

Here's the recipe:

3990g Maris Otter Pale Malt
250g Crystal malt
50g Chocolate Malt
320g Torrefied Wheat
25g Fuggles 90 minutes
27g Goldings 90 minutes
10g Fuggles 15 minutes
10g Goldings 15 minutes
1 x protofloc Tablet
1 x Nottingham Ale Yeast


I hope to build the mash tun saturday, get the cooler bent into shape and finished Sunday, have the ingredients delivered sometime during next week and the big day will be next Saturday.

To be honest I can't wait. I've tried a few different AG's round Moley's place and they were the best beers I've ever tasted, including any pub beers (apart from Kig & Barnes Old Ale).

Actually, that's going to be my 2nd AG brew come to think of it.

Thanks again all.

Terry.

Nice recipie, should work out a bit like blacksheep..It is amazing how hot the strike water could end up. On cold days I end up with strike water at over 84 degrees in the HLT to get 6kgs to 66degrees in the mashtun.

Dont be afraid to give it the beans and get the temp right up, easier to drop the temp in mash tun with a bit of cold than try to get the temp up by boiling kettles all over the place.
Where abouts are you? if you are local to me a good dodge was to add 1/2 a campden tablet to the HLT, seems to get rid of a slight TCP flavour that the chlorine of tap water gives it.
Leave it for the full length for the mash, then check your temps, sneaking the lid off for a peak will drop the temp in the tun. Best advice is to get organised early and be methodical and dont rush